HonestReporting

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HonestReporting is an project of not-for-profit websites in the U.S., Canada, Israel, and the U.K., which monitor news media for unfairness to Israel. Their initial funding came from Aish HaTorah.[1] The organization is one of a growing number involved in media monitoring, which is certainly not limited to Israel or the Middle East. Along with academic monitoring, proponents say it increases accuracy and fairness, while opponents are concerned it can have a chilling effect on free speech.[2]

The Guardian reported a letter-writing campaign to them traced back to a HonestReporting bulletin, entitled "The Guardian: a mainstream British newspaper consistently blames Israel for everything." Guardian research showed the British HonestReporting website was linked to Media Watch International in New York City, and the specific bulletin was composed by Shraga Simmons, who works for Aish HaTorah in Israel.[4] Honest Reporting gave the Guardian the 2008 "Most Questionable Terror Links: The Guardian" award for providing a link to Hamas's military wing, somehow "legitimizing" it. [5]